We are talking to Bernard Królak, Head of Logistics at the paper products factory in Klucze near Olkusz, owned by the American corporation Kimberly-Clark.
Iwo Nowak: Facial tissues and other personal paper products are so common that it is hard to imagine our daily existence without them today. However, few people realize that their practically unlimited availability is the work not so much of the manufacturers themselves, but of the logisticians.
Bernard Królak: Of course. Without close cooperation between production plants and logistics departments, it would be difficult to talk about fast, effective, and at the same time economical distribution within the supply chain from the manufacturer to the final recipient – the individual customer. And the challenge is even greater when we talk about the distribution of our products not only on the scale of all of Poland, where the Velvet brand is the market leader, but also the southern and eastern parts of the continent.
I. N.: Let’s start from the beginning, that is, from the paper mills in Klucze…
B. K.: There are currently 417 people working here, and the corporation employs another 89 in the sales and marketing department in Warsaw. The factory has three of its own warehouses in Klucze itself, with 16,000 pallet spaces (a new central one, built last year, with an area of 9,600 sqm and 2 old ones with a total area of 7,000 sqm). Additionally, we use an external warehouse in Olkusz (18,000 sqm, 28,000 pallet spaces) owned and operated by the domestic company RB Logistic. We do not use racks in them, and the products are stored in blocks in three layers. For two years, we have been using Linde counterbalance forklifts for warehouse operations. As for the electronic system, warehouse management is effectively supported by the Qguar program from Quantum Software SA.
Bernard Królak: Of course. Without close cooperation between production plants and logistics departments, it would be difficult to talk about fast, effective, and at the same time economical distribution within the supply chain from the manufacturer to the final recipient – the individual customer. And the challenge is even greater when we talk about the distribution of our products not only on the scale of all of Poland, where the Velvet brand is the market leader, but also the southern and eastern parts of the continent.
I. N.: Let’s start from the beginning, that is, from the paper mills in Klucze…
B. K.: There are currently 417 people working here, and the corporation employs another 89 in the sales and marketing department in Warsaw. The factory has three of its own warehouses in Klucze itself, with 16,000 pallet spaces (a new central one, built last year, with an area of 9,600 sqm and 2 old ones with a total area of 7,000 sqm). Additionally, we use an external warehouse in Olkusz (18,000 sqm, 28,000 pallet spaces) owned and operated by the domestic company RB Logistic. We do not use racks in them, and the products are stored in blocks in three layers. For two years, we have been using Linde counterbalance forklifts for warehouse operations. As for the electronic system, warehouse management is effectively supported by the Qguar program from Quantum Software SA.
The article comes from the magazine “Logistyka” 6/2005.